There are certain things we as human beings want to happen really fast: roller coaster rides, dentists’ visits, and the pain of childbirth, to name just a few. We’re currently a culture that seems to value speed highly.

That tends to extend to the morning commute, too. Collectively we’d rather sleep later and arrive faster to our desks. But sometimes, slowing down that first morning ride, whether it’s to the office, the gym, or the grocery store, is one of the best things we can do to actually, literally, “Have A Nice Day.”

Slowing down the commute a little by switching from driving to public transport, biking, walking, or a combination of these can also be a good way to make exercise more regular and easier to achieve.

That’s part of the incentive for the Drive Less Connect campaign which is running in Oregon between October 6 and October 19. We all know about the stresses that commuting, especially car commuting can bring: anxiety, road rage, and helplessness in the face of traffic.

Part of Drive Less Connect’s aim is to help commuters get active in their first morning rides, and possibly even save money and win some wonderful prizes (including winners’ choice of our Gen3 Nutcase helmets).

Drive Less Connect has participants create a profile and track their trips by bus, bike, walking, carpool, vanpool or when teleworking. By tracking, participants get entered to win in different prize categories. In helping people find car pool or bike buddy options through Drive Less Connect, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is hoping the program will reduce the state’s vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by one million miles over the program’s two week period.

That’s a lot of miles. But ODOT and the program’s other sponsors also want to connect people to healthy and eco-friendly options for getting around. Giving other travel options a try also qualifies participant for prizes like a custom Bike Friday, a $500 mini vacation card, a Kindle Fire HD tablet, or free Nutcase Gen3 helmets.

So, if you are an Oregonian now is the right time to relax and enjoy your ride – perhaps a new type of ride – and see where it takes you.